LIVE
REVIEW
Water Rats Theatre
17th Jan 2002
Text by Sarah Thirtle
Peter Yorn
Peter Yorn is big in America. This was patently obvious by the massive queue of London Americans waiting outside the Water Rats Theatre from five o'clock onwards to try and get in to see his first UK showcase gig. And a very dedicated lot they were too. Tickets sold fast when the gig was announced, but still they waited in the cold and rain for any tickets left once the record company bods and guests had arrived. The ones that came in at 5 pm created an air of tangible excitement in the bar, eagerly staring through the Water Rats doors to the stage, hanging on every line of the soundcheck! I managed to grab a few words with the man himself before he took to the stage.
Peter should have played in London back in September, but as with many Americans, the shocking events in New York and Washington kept him home. So now Peter was all fired up to crack the UK market. "Oh yeah, London is really cool", stated Peter enthusiastically. He seemed to be quite the Anglophile as he listed off all the British bands he admired. There was the usual Beatles and Who mentions, but also the more recent British scene interested him. "I love listening to Oasis, The Smiths, The Stone Rose, Ride..." The UK music scene, and its subsequent audience are very important to him, "I hope the new album does well here. I made it with the British audience in mind."
A showcase at The Water Rats therefore made perfect sense. As one of the most famous and renowned small venues in London for giving new bands the opportunity to play to music lovers and industry, helping to start the careers of many of the bands that Peter admires, he is surely starting on the right foot here. But it is vastly different to the venues he has been used to playing in America. There he sells out 1000 seat arenas, and more. I was keen to find out what he made of the comparatively bijou surroundings of the Water Rats. "Oh its really nice, really cool. I love the building. I'm looking forward to playing here." What a nice man he is!
So, with last night's karaoke escapades (Burt Bacharach and The Beatles 'til five in the morning) his only warm-up playing live in the UK, Peter Yorn and his band took to the stage to a tumultuous welcome by his record company audience, guests and die-hard fans. Indeed, the word of his song writing lusciousness must have spread, as I spotted Fran Healy (Travis) and Phil Jupitus (Never mind the Buzzcocks) amongst the eager punters.
Peter Yorn fits snugly into the Ryan Adams/Elliott Smith school of American singer-song writers, which in my book is no bad thing at all. He, and his band, stormed through an emotive, rocking set, with a wry nod to his British audience and influences with a faithful cover of The Smiths' "Panic". The encore betrayed his all American roots with an impromptu rendition of The Boss' "Born to Run".
In the coming months Peter Yorn's album will be released, and if all's fair in love and the music industry, Peter's affection for all things British will be reciprocated by the audience. With Columbia/Sony's backing, and a hugely enjoyable showcase at The Water Rats under his belt, he'll certainly be hoping so.
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